Saturday, September 8, 2012

I decided to scale back a bit. While we have a smorgasbord of grocery stores around here (Harris Teeter, Giant Food, Target, Walmart, and Food Lion), I'm only starting with Target deals for now. I will admit Giant Food usually has some pretty good deals on fresh meat - lots of BOGO deals too! But I like to shop Target because it's the least crowded, most sensibly priced, closest grocer to my house. PLUS we have a Target Red Card which saves us 5% on every purchase. Considering our grocery food tax here is 2.5% I think 5% savings is GREAT! There are lots of credit cards out there that provide rewards (usually after the fact rather than an immediate savings such as the Target Card). Unfortunately, our credit cards do not provide rewards for stores like Target and WalMart because they are not primarily grocery stores. Bah Humbug!

Tip: Something else to look for is grocery store savings cards that link to gas savings! Our Giant Food stores give you $0.10 per gallon off at Shell stations for every $100 you spend.

Tip: Everything I have a coupon for I always price compare the store brand vs. the name brand with coupon. Sometimes store brand wins out if it's good quality.

Tip: If you have the extra cash, stock up on non-perishable items when they go on sale and you have a coupon! Canned foods, paper goods, plastic wrap, etc. I store these items in my basement. Right now I have a stockpile of trash bags, paper towels, and ziploc bags.

Tip: Check out this and this digital coupon source! Several stores participate and maybe your favorite is on the list. These coupons are downloaded right to your grocery store savings card - no clipping required!

Newest store brand discovery: Market Pantry (Target brand) Nutra Grain type cereal bars. They feel a little heavier and taste a bit sweeter but the price is about $0.25 cheaper compared to name brand without coupon.

I will be organizing my coupons on this blog not only for myself but also for those of you who are new to the coupon thing and just need a little help or inspiration. Coupon Mom is MY go-to but I understand it can be overwhelming and hard to decide what you need and what you don't. Maybe your grocery list looks something like mine? As I go forward with this venture, I'll be using more of the local grocery store circulars to plan meals and attempt to combine store deals with coupons I find on Coupon Mom. Wish me luck and follow along if you dare.

I've started a new lifestyle of clearn(er) eating. Not everything on this list is considered "clean" but we have certainly cleaned up our diets and are continuing to make modifications. Because of this, though, our grocery bill is starting to increase a bit. So I'm on a coupon kick (again). It's very easy to get caught up in the coupon craze, but it can also be a very daunting task So this time I've decided to make a list of all the things we buy on a regular basis. When I search coupons I will only be saving/printing/clipping those that we will most definitely use. I will no longer clip and buy something just because I have a coupon and we "might" use it. Some of the items listed below are monthly purchases (or less often) and some are weekly (perishables) but here is the list in its entirety:

Breakfast Foods
Cereal
Grits
Pancake mix (Getting into the habit of making homemade)
Cereal Bars (I'm starting to make these homemade too!)
Oatmeal (I also use this for homemade granola)

Health
Protein Shake Mix

Frozen Foods
Biscuits (because I SUCK at homemade biscuits!)
Whole grain waffles (need to learn to make these homemade)
Corn (kernel or on the cob, when not in season)
Fruit (for smoothies, when not in season)
Pizza (which I am starting to make from scratch right down to the crust and sauce)
Onions (because they're easy and there when I'm in a pinch for a recipe)
Bell Peppers (again because sometimes I find myself needing them for a recipe and don't have any fresh in the fridge)
Fried Okra (guilty pleasure)
Lima Beans
Orange Juice
Edamame

Snacks
Granola (getting in the habit of making homemade)
Popcorn (need to get in the habit of getting a single serve to pop in a brown paper sack into the microwave)
Whole Grain Crackers
Nuts or Seeds (sunflower, almonds, etc.)
Dried Fruit (learning how easy it is to make my own!)
Animal Cookies (because they have the least amount of sugar and my daughter eats them - okay so I sneak a few too) or graham crackers
Dark Chocolate (plus some kind of "real chocolate candy" for my husband)
Multi Grain Tortilla Chips

Produce
Potatoes (on occasion)
Sweet potatoes
Brocoli (didn't do so well in my garden this year)
Carrots (will start growing next year)
Asparagus
Artichoke
Butternut Squash
Corn
Mushrooms
Cucumber (still growing in the garden so far)
Green Beans
Lettuce or Spinach (did great for several weeks in the spring in my garden)
Bell Peppers (haven't sprouted in my garden yet, just a bunch a beautiful green leaves)
Tomatoes (for now I can get them from my garden)
Onions (didn't do so well in my garden this year)
Celery
Bananas
Pineapple (I even planted one for an experiment this year)
Blackberries, raspberries, or blueberries (we'll see if the blueberry bush turns out next year)
Strawberries (didn't get too many or get very big in the garden this year)
Apples (one of these days our apple tree will mature and fruit) or Pears
Avocado
Cherries or Grapes (also no grapes on the vine this year)
Oranges, tangerines, or grapefruit
Peaches, nectarines, or plums
Melon
Kiwi
Mango
Fresh Hummus
Fresh Salsa

Nothing to do with ABA here, unless you consider saving money positive reinforcement for clipping coupons - which I do! My favorite website for coupon clipping is Coupon Mom. Check her out for coupon deals oranized by state or your favorite store. She even has a price matcher tool! I'm on a "clean eating" kick right now and doing fairly well - not perfect but better. Unfortunately, that means most of my grocery list doesn't have coupons:( But that's where store specials come into play. Coupon Mom also has those on her website! Plus we have a great local farmer's market right in Historic Downtown Manassas. Feel free to check back often for coupons here or create your own list from Coupon Mom's website.

About Me

I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend with a passion for helping others. I am also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and as such I find myself providing behavioral advice to a variety of people in a variety of situations. I started my ABAMom blog because many of my friends, colleagues, and family have requested my professional behavioral opinion over the years. If you are interested in ABA therapy services, please contact me for more information.